Shamans in all cultures from ancient times until the present have employed means for altering their states of consciousness so as to induce visions and become conscious of non-ordinary realities where information helpful in healing illnesses and performing divinations may be available. Such means include the ingestion of psychotropic plant substances, the use of rhythmic and monotonous sound such as drumming and chanting, and dancing such as the Sufi whirling dervish dances.
Mircea Eliade (1964) in "Shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy", (Panther Books) p.130 describes a practice of shamans of the Carib Indians of South America who place apprentices on "a platform suspended from the ceiling of the hut by a number of cords twisted together, which, as they unwind, make the platform revolve with increasing speed. The novice sings: `The platform of the pujai will carry me to the sky . . . ` and he enters the various celestial spheres one after the other and sees the spirits in a vision . . . Finally, the apprentice feels that he is carried into the sky and enjoys celestial visions." [Citing F. Andres (1939), "Die Himmelsreise der Caraibischen Medizinmanner" ZE LXX 3-5 p.340; and Metraux, "Le Shamanisme chez les Indiens de l'Amerique du Sud Tropicale", p.208.]
H. Kalweit (1988), "Dreamtime and Inner Space, The World of the Shaman", Shambhala Press, pp. 163-165 also describes this device and states that Robert Masters and Jean Houston have developed a similar device and found that a person being subjected to vertical or horizontal movements would, after about twenty minutes, experience an altered state of consciousness marked by highly realistic fantasies. The Masters and Houston device is described by its developers as similar to the European "witches' cradle", essentially a swing. Best results were achieved with the subject standing up with the eyes covered. A similar device was displayed at Essalen Institute in California during the 1960's, comprising a swing in which the subject could sit and swing and spin. The subject's entire body was covered and bound in canvas.
In none of these devices were means provided for controlling the speed of rotation or continuing the rotation over a period of up to thirty minutes with periodic reversal of the direction of rotation.
Carlos Castaneda (1981), in "The Eagle's Gift," Washington Square Press, New York, N.Y., at page 61-62 describes a harness device for a game in which the subject is suspended in a harness and must keep his balance as antagonists pull the ropes suspending the subject. The game is for sharpening visual prowess and gaining access to "memory of the body".
Devices which rotate the human body for purposes other than trance induction are known to the art. A number of such devices are designed for holding the subject in a seated rather than a reclining position, as shown in the following U.S. Patents: Kiddie U.S. Pat. No. 715,668 for "Pleasure Device" shows a swing which is hung on a rotatable mount to convert it into a carousel. Jones U.S. Pat. No. 1,044,391 for Roundabout Swing shows a rotating swing with a center post. A platform rotates about a shaft piercing its middle, suspending on ropes or wires which wind up around the shaft as the platform turns and cause reversal of its motion when unwinding. Curry U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,129 for "Children's Merry-Go-Round" shows a merry-go-round having retractable seat arms and powered by an electric motor. Keaton U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,202 shows a rotatable, manually powered lounge chair pivoted on a base. It has a gear connection to control the amount of rotation and to position the chair. Change U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,140 discloses a rotating platform for a sunbather having a chair mounted upon the platform. It has a center pivot about which the platform will rotate and the platform also has rollers at its end. The platform may be motor-powered. Sobel U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,451 discloses a manually rotatable chaise lounge in which the body support has a base element which is pivotally supported on the base frame. There are roller bearings between the base and the rotatable support.
U.S. Patents which disclose rotating display devices are as follows: Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 1,106,255 for Spectacular Display Apparatus shows a display device useful for stage productions with a sling for suspending the article to be displayed, such as a grand piano, which can be both rotated and moved vertically. The device may be rotated by pulling a rope attached to a pulley. Hartong U.S. Pat. No. 1,553,528 for "Display Device," shows a device for merchandise display having a circular platform rotated by means of an electric motor beneath the platform powering peripheral drive means.
Rotatable platforms on which sunbathers may lie supine are as follows: Derujinsky U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,896 for Sunbather's Rotatable Platform shows a sunbather's platform for two individuals who lie on it in a supine position. The platform is manually rotated. Speice U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,588 for Revolving Solar Lounger shows a chaise-type lounger which rotates on a base only in response to energization from the sun's rays. When the sun is covered by clouds, the lounge does not rotate. Padgett U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,119 for Suntanning Device, shows a rotatable sunbathing lounge which is pivotally supported on the pivot base and has an adjustable braking device to slow down the rotation to a desired speed, and is rotated by a spring or an electric motor, or gravity. This device is believed to provide rotational speeds considerably slower than required for trance induction.
A climber's device in which the subject may lie supine on a platform suspended on straps is the Portaledge by A-5 Company of Phoenix Ariz., depicted in Bridwell, et al. (1990), "Climbing Big Walls," pages 58-59. This device is not designed to rotate.
None of the foregoing disclose or suggest a rotating device upon which the subject may lie supine, suitable for trance induction. Nor has any rotating device been taught adapted to automatically rotate at a speed suitable for trance induction.